Kyle Petty: Michael Jordan going to victory lane for Tyler Reddick’s win is a ‘huge moment for the sport’

23XI Racing co-owner and NBA legend Michael Jordan was in attendance to see his driver, Tyler Reddick, win the GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday.

Jordan celebrated with Reddick’s four-year son Beau as Reddick did his burnout on the frontstretch at Talladega and later joined the team in victory lane. Former NASCAR driver Kyle Petty spoke on the impact of Jordan being present for the victory celebration, calling it a “huge moment for the sport.”

“That’s huge for me,” Petty said. “That is huge for this sport. When we go back to last week and we see our most popular driver, Chase Elliott, go to victory lane I think everybody thought, ‘What a great day for the sport. Our Mr. popularity is back in victory lane.’ But to have an iconic basketball player, an iconic individual like Michael Jordan go to victory lane the following week for his first trip with his team, 23XI, with his driver, Tyler Reddick, is a huge moment for the sport. It’ll be played out on sports pages and on TV all across America today. You can count on it. Thank you, Tyler Reddick and Michael Jordan.”

Reddick found his way to victory lane after a last lap wreck involving race-leader Michael McDowell. McDowell went for the double block on Brad Keselowski as the two approached the checkered line but failed to clear him and catapulted up the track and into the outside wall. Reddick kept it full throttle, driving past Keselowski to steal the victory.

Michael Jordan celebrates with Tyler Reddick in victory lane

The win is the sixth of Reddick’s career and first this season for 23XI. Among the first to greet Reddick in victory lane? Talladega was the first race Jordan witnessed a victory from a 23XI driver.

“As you know, this is the NBA playoffs right now. To me, this is like an NBA playoff game,” Jordan told Jamie Little of FOX Sports after the race. “I am so ecstatic for the fans who support the sport itself. We’ve been working hard trying to get ourselves up to compete against all the top guys in this sport. But we’ve done a heck of a job just to be where qe are.

“For us to win a big race like this, it means so much to me for the effort that the team has done. I’m all in. I love it. It replaces a lot of the competitiveness that I had in basketball. This is even worse because I have no control. If I was playing basketball, I have total control, but I have no control. I live vicariously through the drivers and all the crew chiefs and everybody.”